Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Are All Orthodox Christians Supposed to Evangelize? (UPDATED)
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The following is culled from comments I made on a Facebook thread in a private group in which it was being alleged that most Orthodox Christians aren’t meant to function as missionaries. The argument was mentioned that the Lord’s command to go into all the earth and preach the Gospel was given only (or mainly) to the apostles. Allowance was made for certain rareā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Seven Ways to Argue on the Orthodox Internet
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Orthodox Christians argue on the Internet. It seems like everybody does it. Well, it’s not everybody, of course. But, boy! is it rampant! I figure that, so long as we’re going to do it, we might as well keep some things in mind so that we can do it better. 1. Actually, you probably shouldn’t. It’s so super-easy to get into arguments on socialā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Where Does Zeal for God Come From?
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Fifth Sunday after Pentecost and the Fifth Sunday of Matthew, July 9, 2017 Romans 10:1-10; Matthew 8:28-9:1 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (Romans 10:2) St. Paul says thisā¦
Nearly Orthodox
Reflections on Being Patriotic
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(This post originally titled “Giving Thanks as a Nation” appeared on Nearly Orthodox November 28th, 2013) Our trip to New York this past summer was a whirlwind. We saw an opportunity to go with very little notice. Dave had a client meeting in the area and the flights were cheap and available. We packed up everyone, made a hasty plan, booked a room and embraced the adventure of it all. With threeā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Is Faith Like in the Bible Even Possible?
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The Placing of the Robe of the Theotokos / Fourth Sunday of Matthew, July 2, 2017 Hebrews 9:1-7; Matthew 8:5-13 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Only say the word, and my servant will be healed. (Matt. 8:8) It is hard for us, living in theā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
A House of Prayer for All Nations
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Vespers for the Fourth Sunday After Pentecost, July 1, 2017 Mark 11:17, Isaiah 56:1-8 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Eastern Dioceses Parish Life Conference, Morristown, New Jersey In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. After the Lord Jesus upends the tables of the money changers in the Temple in Mark 11, Heā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Jesus Didn't Come to Earth to Help Us
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Third Sunday after Pentecost / Third Sunday of Matthew, June 25, 2017 Romans 5:1-10; Matthew 6:22-33 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. (Matt. 6:33) Jesus says these words rightā¦
Nearly Orthodox
A Word about Suffering
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Ok, fineā many words about suffering… AĀ quick search on the topic of suffering brings out the heavy hittersā Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. Helen Keller Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. Khalil Gibran And that’s not even tapping into our massive supplyā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
What I Saw at #AFCon
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This past week I attended the Ancient Faith Writing and Podcasting Conference (AFCon), an event which I also attended last year (its inaugural year), where I spoke on ministry in social media. This year, though, I wasn’t one of the scheduled speakers but was just attending along with everyone else. Last year, I have to admit that I was a bit ambivalent about attending.ā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Becoming Fishers of Men: A How-To
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Second Sunday after Pentecost, June 18, 2017 Romans 2:10-16; Matthew 4:18-23 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. With these words in Matthewās Gospel chapter 4, Jesus summons His first two disciplesāSimon Peter and Andrew. They areā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Can We Do What the Saints Did?
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Sunday of All Saints, June 11, 2017 Hebrews 11:33-12:2; Matthew 10:32-33, 37-8; 19:27-30 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today we hear this from Hebrews chapter 11: All the saints through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the powerā¦
Nearly Orthodox
Journal Entry: Thought Traffic
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There’s an awful lot happening in the world, and that makes my thought traffic terrible. I had to lay down last night and just watch an episode or two of “Chopped” to clear things out. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I think I mentioned not long ago that I’ve been working my way through this first volume of The Philokaliaā slow but sure. And while reading, I’ve been puttingā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Descent of God as Fire: Pentecost and the Exodus
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Sunday of Pentecost, June 4, 2017 Acts 2:1-11; John 7:32-57, 8:12 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. In his commentary on the events of that first Pentecost, the Venerable Bede, who was an English saint and Biblical scholar and commentator in the early eighth century, makesā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Did Jesus Abandon Us at the Ascension?
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Sunday after Ascension, May 28, 2017 Acts 20:16-18, 28-36; John 17:1-13 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. We have now left behind the time of continuous celebration of Christās resurrection and are now celebrating His ascension into heaven, a feast that falls on the fortieth dayā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Jesus Doesn't Fit Into My Life
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Sunday of the Blind Man and the Feast of Ss. Constantine and Helen, May 21, 2017 Acts 26:1, 12-20; John 9:1-38 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is risen! It is challenging to be a Christian in our times. It is challenging for many reasonsāourā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Those Who Quit Church: Why Do We Talk About Converts More?
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Recently, someone wrote to ask why the Orthodox blogosphere and media seem to talk far more about converts to Orthodoxy than people who have been Orthodox and have left off coming to church. This is a hard subject, and it’s one I don’t recall seeing talked about much online. This (with some edits and additions) was my response: I will relate why I thinkā¦
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Utah's Largest Newspaper Interviews Mormon to Orthodox Christian Convert
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Editor’s Note: A couple of weeks back, a reporter at the Salt Lake Tribune contacted us on the O&H Facebook page to get in touch with former Mormons (LDS) who had converted to Orthodoxy. One of those who responded to this inquiry was Cameron Davis. He was one of several interviewed for this piece (which is well worth reading). Like all newspaperā¦
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Philosophy According to Christ: Were the Fathers āCorruptedā by Greek Philosophy?
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It is a recurring popular trope, especially in some Protestant circles, to dismiss the Church Fathers on the grounds that they were āseducedā or ācorruptedā by Greek philosophy and that their understanding of the faith displays the cultural milieu of the day, rather than proper biblical exegesis. Even many scholars have claimed that attempting to read the Bible as the Fathers didā¦
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Two Surprising Statistics about Orthodox Christianity in America
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Plenty has been written about the Pew Research Center’s second Religious Landscape Study, published in 2014. Relatively little commentary has focused on what the findings tell us about Orthodox Christians in America. In part, the lack of attention is due to the very small sample size of Orthodox believers in the study — so small that the margin for error is somewhereā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
What's the Point of Miracles?
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Sunday of the Paralytic, May 7, 2017 Acts 9:32-42; John 5:1-15 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is risen! Do you ever wonder what it might have been like to be with the Apostles during those exciting days after Pentecost, when they were sent forthā¦
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Bourgeois āConjugal Friendshipā and American Ethnophyletism
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With Lamps in Hand
What's on Your 'List'?
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This is not a blog exclusively for single girls or even young women specifically. However, I’ve noticed an area of life that we don’t writeĀ much about in the Orthodox world is dating and relationships. And I may have promised some young ladies in my world that eventually we’d talk about those things here. So today’s the first post in a short series on just that topic. Married ladies, I hope you commentā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Receiving the Body of Jesus: Joseph of Arimathea and Holy Communion
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Myrrh-bearers Sunday, April 30, 2017 Acts 6:1-7; Mark 15:43-16:8 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is risen! Today we celebrate two sets of people who gave attention to the body of our Lord Jesus Christ after His crucifixion: the Myrrh-bearing Women and two men whoā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Priesthood After the Resurrection
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Thomas Sunday and the Feast of St. George, April 23, 2017 Acts 5:12-20; John 20:19-31 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is risen! Itās not easy being a parish priest. It often comes with a lot of disappointment and frustration. There have even been aā¦
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
A Helpful, But Uneven Contribution: Review of "The Benedict Option" by Rod Dreher
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On April 2, 2017, Rod Dreherās The Benedict Option debuted at number seven for hardcover non-fiction on the New York Timesā bestseller list (promptly to drop from the list the following week). This new offering from Dreher is a summary of his life experience, a sort of manifesto for the conservative Christian seeking meaning in a world inundated by progressive agendas, commercialism,ā¦
Nearly Orthodox
Short Trip to the Edge: A Pilgrimage to Prayer
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“And then I was standing at the edge. It would surprise you how near to home. And the abyss? Every shade of blue, all of them readily confused, and, oddly, none of this as terrifying as I had expected, just endless.” āScott Cairns “Short Trip to the Edge” Well, first off, I don’t generally “review” books. Let’s just be clear about that. Reviews can be so subjective, and what one personā¦
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Ed Stetzer on Hanegraaff Switch: What CT Gets Wrong About Orthodox Conversions
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Writing in Evangelical flagship publication Christianity Today, Ed Stetzer, who is a professor at Wheaton and heads up the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, made some guesses about why Evangelicals become Orthodox Christians in “Hank Hanegraaffās Switch to Eastern Orthodoxy, Why People Make Such Changes, and Four Ways Evangelicals Might Respond“: The obvious question is what draws evangelicals to more liturgical traditionsāandā¦
